In my last post I shared some simple activities that can help your young child improve cutting skills. Todays games are very effective in improving your childs drawing and handwriting skills. Fill a shirt-sized cardboard box top with sand or salt. (Don’t use sugar because your child ...

In my last post I shared some simple activities that can help your young child improve cutting skills. Today's games are very effective in improving your child's drawing and handwriting skills.

Fill a shirt-sized cardboard box top with sand or salt. (Don’t use sugar because your child might be tempted to eat it!) Have your child practice writing letters of the alphabet with her index finger, making sure to practice both uppercase and lowercase letters. Once your child masters the letters, give her an unsharpened pencil to use in the sand or salt. She can trace her name and simple words. You can write a word in the sand or salt and have her copy it underneath your model. This is a great rainy day activity!

Use a highlight marker to print letters, names, words, etc. on a piece of paper. (Use any color high lighter except yellow. Yellow is too light.) Have your child write inside the highlight color with a pencil. This gives your child a distinct border in which to work, yet allows him to clearly see his own writing.

Take an old cookie sheet. Fill it with a thin layer of shaving cream. Give your child a Q-Tip or unsharpened pencil and let her draw and print in the shaving cream. (This is a fun bathtub activity!)

Use your driveway or sidewalk as a giant slate, and let your child use colored chalk to create pictures. This is an excellent way to enhance fine motor skills in a larger setting and the pictures will last until the next rainfall!